U.S. Supreme Court To Rule On Business Method Patents
By Anna Johnson on June 8th, 2009In a decision that may well rock both the legal and technology worlds, the United States Supreme Court will decide what kinds of business methods may be patented.
Controversy has surrounded business method patents (also known as business process patents in other jurisdictions) ever since the U.S. Patents and Trademarks Office began issuing them on a provisional basis.
There isn’t any shortage of opinions over what should – or shouldn’t be – patentable, either.
On the one side, you have those – including many software and Internet based companies – who value the greater protection offered by patents for their business methods… On the other, you have those concerned that such protection is so broad and restrictive as to inhibit innovation.
Last October saw the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington substantially narrow the scope of business processes eligible for patent protection.
In that case, the court ruled against Bernard L. Bilski and Rand A. Warsaw, who tried to patent a method of hedging risks in the sale of commodities, including the risks associated with bad weather.
The Court of Appeals said, however, that business method patents could only apply to methods tied to a particular machine or apparatus, or for processes involving the transformation of a particular article into a different state or thing.
Now the highest court in the U.S. will decide the matter. Whether the Supreme Court will affirm or overrule the position stated by the Court of Appeals remains to be seen.
One thing is for sure, though. If you hold or have applied for a U.S. business method patent – or if you’ve created technology that potentially infringes someone else’s business method patent – this is one Supreme Court decision you’ll want to know about…
